LEGO’s Architecture theme is one that I take notice of, but don’t often invest in. 21036 Arc de Triomphe, however, is a set I have looked forward to reviewing.

Box and Instructions

The box is the standard box for the theme, with a black background and 12+ age recommendation and dimensions on the front, and facts and images of the real building and LEGO model on the back. The front of the box flips upwards, and the instructions feature a number of interesting facts about the Arc de Triomphe scattered throughout.

Build

The build for this set is quite interesting, employing techniques I personally have not seen before. There is very little repetition, except when building the statues and pedestals and the base.

Completed Model

The completed model sits on a black base with the buildings name on an exclusive 1x8 tile. In the centre of the build is the flame (apologies for not knowing the name) which incorporates what I believe is a gold painted 2x2 dish. The white and tan colour scheme does a good job of representing the white limestone and I like the inset jumper plates used to represent the base reliefs. The pattern lining the top is simple, yet highly effective.

Summary

I myself have (unfortunately) not visited the real Arc de Triomphe, however that does nothing to make this any less of a great model. The build was enjoyable and results in a remarkably accurate set that looks great on the shelf. As such, I can highly recommend this set to anyone who likes the subject matter, or who simply enjoys LEGO for the building experience.

Thank you for reading - I hope you found this review helpful!

Hello, this is me looking at a 2017 Architecture set that retails for a decent price of £30 or $40 with 386 parts meaning the price per part is 7.8p or 10.4c.

Build

The Arc De Triomphe in real life is a beautiful piece of 18th Century Architecture but this £30 set just does not quite bring justice as it lacks in details it could have had.

Anyhow the base of the build is done well using 30 2x2 dark tan tiles, it also has the exclusive 1x8 printed Arc De Triomphe tile. In the centre of the Arc is a fire pit represented by three parts. There are four what could be called pillars which all are the same, each have a plain white nanofigure that’s on a stand that sticks out of the pillar. At the top of the pillars is a massive arc using 6 1x6x2 arch pieces in white besides each outer arch there is a jumper plate connected in a way that only shows the anti studs which represents the calved images in the real structure. Going further up the is a pattern across the 3/4 line which uses most of the 30 hinge holders in white these are used to present more calves images in the building. The top row has another pattern but this time using dozens of 1x1 studs and plates in white for again more images that are seen in the building. Now at the very top aka the roof the rest of the 30 hinge holders are used along with a tiles white surface that has a tan add on on top which uses 8 of the quarter round tiles.

Packaging and Booklet

As the titles suggest i like the box and booklet in this set as both tell you more about the real building than the 386 parts do, The manual has 6 pages of information about the build and the last few pages show use some current Architecture sets and how they make some of them and also the parts list. The box opens like a shoe box and can be reused for multiple purposes like storing LEGO, It also has a verity of facts in a dozen or so languages.

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Overal

To conclude this review i’d day of your a French National, love France, love Architecture or LEGO Architecture this is a great set but for the rest i would recommend skipping this one, there are very little good parts, apart from the nano figures or the 2x2 dark tan tiles, or surprising techniques.

Also i wished those inverted jumpers were printed tiles but hey.

Pros- We’ll priced, Great packaging, a decent selection of useful elements

Cons- Not a stand out build, no printed tiles else whew than the base

Summary

Overall this is an OK model - one the one hand an iconic building that should be included in the Lego Architecture line-up. On the other, a lot of compromises had to be made to render the original in a Lego structure that still fits the constraints of the architecture range. And with that, at the same time it is its strength and its weakness: yes, it looks like the Arc de Triomphe, but at the same time in the details it is off, turning it a bit into a generic triumphal arch.

Building the Arc

The general design of the structure is well done. The overall look is captured well, and so seem the dimensions.The designer made great use of what seem to me to be fairly common pieces (though perhaps in more uncommon colours). As is usual in modern Lego sets, some of the pieces are in bright colours (in this case often blue), which thankfully are covered up nicely. The use of the arches to clamp in the panels and clever SNOT design was nice to see. The various colour bands (gray and tan) break up the monotony of the white nicely, and add some depth (for the panels).

The panels and artwork decorative elements are the ones posing a problem for the design; they simply cannot be replicated faithfully in Lego (at least in this scale). The attempt to do so (IMHO this is quite well done within the constraints of Lego) is what turns the model into something more generic.

The construction of the set was easy (if you pay attention to the instructions), nothing tricky. Overall it took me about 45 minutes or so of building at a leisurely pace. Although there are quite a few 2x1 tiles and hinge pieces, somehow I never got the feeling the construction was dominated by one or two pieces like for instance the Louvre or the US Capitol. The construction did not become monotonous at any point.

Play vs Display

As with all the models in this range, the Arc de Triomphe is a display model - which is fine as this is the intention of the series.

The verdict

What to make of this set? Personally, I am not sure. This set is a clear compromise, and I can definitely see why people would consider it too much of a compromise. A more faithful representation of the artwork structure would have probably have increased its size to the point of putting it in the US Capitol price range, and maybe beyond while introducing new design issues (like the arches).

Should this set then have been made? Some would argue not, I would argue it rightly was - simply because the building is too important and iconic to be excluded. Whether you buy it is a completely personal decision; personally I like this one more than for instance Buckingham Palace. The price is fairly steep (though again, to me more palatable than the one for Buckingham Palace). If you can find it on a discount, it is IMHO worth it, despite all its flaws if you collect the series. At full price it becomes a much more personal matter.

I've built almost every set in the LEGO Architecture series, and I'm always excited when a new set is available for the first time. While I really enjoy the variety that the new "Skylines" sets have added to the Architecture range, I don't like that we haven't been seeing quite as many sets based on a single standalone buildings since they were introduced. That's why I was pleased to here that we would be getting three new standalone models this year.

I admit that I was a bit underwhelmed with the photos of the Arc de Triomphe set when they were released - I didn't like that intricate carved details were reduced to a single statuette.


OVERVIEW:
The model contains 386 pieces, and has an MSRP of 39.99$. (This seems too expensive since it contains small and basic parts, and we have been seeing well under .08 cents per piece in recent additions to the Architecture series.)

BUILD:
I built about half of the model using only the photo on the front of the box. I was unable to complete the model in this way for two reasons... 1) There is an error in the photo on the front of the box. 2) There is a lot of clever SNOT construction techniques used in the upper half of the model.

Before getting into the details of the mistake on the cover and in the instructions, I do want to call out a few of the more interesting techniques.

The arches slide over the 'Carved' sections containing the statues, which are offset from the rest of the model.


I like how you assemble the panels containing the statue which are 1/2 stud offset from the base as a single assembly. This makes the construction process simpler.


Assembling the top section of the corniced roof.


I also liked seeing how the final level of the roof came together. Brackets and headlight bricks are used to good effect to ensure everything lines up correctly.


THE MISTAKE:
When trying to build a model using only the photo on the cover, it's critical that the model was assembled correctly before taking the photos.


There should be a gray plate beneath the white plate in the tiny sliver of the photo which you can see behind the archway.

The same error is reflected in the instruction booklet. They ask you to assemble four identical modules and attach them to the baseplate built on previous steps. The module which goes in the rear-left corner is shown without the layer of gray plate on the bottom. (My guess is the software they use to design the instructions doesn't prevent you from placing one brick on top of another - the module was probably copy/pasted and accidentally pushed one plate too deep.)


As you can see, the left module is missing the gray plate.

To be fair, it's not a major mistake in the instructions, and people who follow the instructions closely probably won't notice this mistake as they would simply snap all four modules into place as indicated.


Closing Thoughts:
I have enjoyed visiting Paris, and I agree that the Arc de Triomphe is an important landmark and a great example of Neoclassical architecture. Unfortunately, this is not my favorite recent addition to the LEGO Architecture series (especially since most of the recent sets have been excellent.) I would have liked to see them make the model a little larger so they could have included additional detail in the carved panels surrounding the building.

Further, the set is overpriced at 39.99$ for less than 400 pieces. To make matters worse, the set doesn't include any especially large or interesting parts to add to your collection. If you can find it for a steep discount, it's not a bad model, but I'd strongly recommend other models in the series (Louvre, US Capitol, etc...) if you haven't tried them already.

For additional photos of the build, and more involved discussion about Form vs Applied Decoration in Architecture, feel free to read the longer review I posted to http://brickarchitect.com/2017/review-21036-arc-de-triomphe/